DSF

I'm looking to bulk press coasters/magnets etc and aside from a UniSub who are US based, I can't find anywhere in the UK that stock production jigs for pressing items. Having some custom made seems fairly inexpensive, but what is the best/most cost effective material to have these made from? I was thinking thin MDF? The UniSub ones I see are made using steel, which of course requires much more than a powerful laser machine to cut.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Don’t waste your time or money.

been down this road a few years ago and bought all different types of jigs.
Not one gives any acceptable result.

I just tape them now and it saves time too.

For coasters I use mug paper and print two per sheet and cut in half.
then align the image and tape on two sides.

I do have a template with a black outline to make it easier to align the coaster quicker.

Mrteajunkie;152921 wrote:Don’t waste your time or money.

been down this road a few years ago and bought all different types of jigs.
Not one gives any acceptable result.

I just tape them now and it saves time too.

For coasters I use mug paper and print two per sheet and cut in half.
then align the image and tape on two sides.

I do have a template with a black outline to make it easier to align the coaster quicker.

Thanks for your reply! Can I ask why using a jig similar to this one wouldn’t work? https://www.xpres.co.uk/unisub-coaster- ... are-xp4062

In this instance, surely printing 6 coasters on a single A3+ qsheet, then placing it down on the jig and taping secure, would save considerable time?


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You would think so as I did.

but you won’t save any time at all.
in fact I find it faster to tape by hand than align a jig and press.

The first issue will be alignment, getting it all straight and square then you need to be very very gentle with your press or it will move and 6 wasted coasters.

second issue, your jig will be red hot once pressed so you need to allow that to cool before you can press another 6 coasters. How many coasters can you tape in the time it takes to cool down a metal jig from 190*

Third issue, are all your coasters the correct size with no imperfections?
I buy unisub coasters and although they are pretty much spot on even a small gap on one side of the jig means a misaligned image and a wasted or poorly printed coaster.

So taping a coaster takes what 6 seconds max? (That’s way overestimating)
Aligning cooling and resetting a jig will take probably 10 minutes.

Absolutely see where you're coming from!

I find it hard to get my head around how companies producing hundreds of sublimation coasters a day, don't use a jig. I'm currently adding a 3mm bleed to my images and haven't even taped them down when pressing, I'm yet to mess one up in the handful of samples I've pressed.

In my head I was thinking an MDF/wooden jig sized at A3, then make a template that aligns perfectly with the jig, lay flat, tape down and press, leaving enough bleed to accommodate a mm or 2 of movement.

I have tried them all and mdf jigs warp.
mdp sell mdf jigs cheap and you print 6x coasters to a4 and align and tape down.

but after two to three presses the mdf warps.

Mrteajunkie;152925 wrote:I have tried them all and mdf jigs warp.
mdp sell mdf jigs cheap and you print 6x coasters to a4 and align and tape down.

but after two to three presses the mdf warps.

Damn, that’s so annoying [emoji19]


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The longest part of coaster printing is removing all of the static MDF dust from the coating side. I was half tempted to buy a Dyson hand dryer to save that time!

GoonerGary;152929 wrote:The longest part of coaster printing is removing all of the static MDF dust from the coating side. I was half tempted to buy a Dyson hand dryer to save that time!

I hadn’t noticed that, I suppose it depends on the supplier


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